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Trump Imposes New Sanctions On Iran

The Trump administration on Tuesday
unveiled a new slate of economic sanctions against Iran over its
ballistic missile program and destabilizing actions in the region, the
day after announcing that it will grudgingly recertify Tehran’s
compliance with the nuclear agreement reached under former President
Obama.

The U.S. Treasury
Department designated 16 entities and individuals for supporting
“illicit Iranian actors or transnational criminal activity,” according
to a statement.

Some of
those targeted had supported the Iranian military or Iran’s Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by developing drones, fast attack boats
and other military equipment. Others stole U.S. and western software
programs, which were sold to the Iranian government, according to the
statement.

The State Department separately designated two organizations involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program.

“This
Administration will continue to aggressively target Iran's malign
activity, including their ongoing state support of terrorism, ballistic
missile program, and human rights abuses," Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin said. The
sanctions, he said, “send a strong signal that the United States cannot
and will not tolerate Iran’s provocative and destabilizing behavior. We
will continue to target the IRGC and pressure Iran to cease its
ballistic missile program and malign activities in the region.”

The
administration is required to certify to Congress every 90 days that
Tehran is sticking to the terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement — a move
that Trump made Monday, his second time since taking office.

But
the president has expressed deep ambivalence about the agreement, which
he repeatedly vowed to tear up on the campaign trail, and senior
officials reportedly had to talk him into Monday’s announcement.

In
an hourlong meeting last week, according to The New York Times, Trump
spent 55 minutes telling some of his highest-ranking national security
advisers that he wanted to abandon the Iran deal. Defense Secretary
James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and national security
adviser H.R. McMaster convinced the president to maintain the agreement
for now.

The announcement came paired with harsh criticism of Iran’s conduct and the threat of further sanctions.

The
deal, struck in 2015, offered sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for
certain curbs on its nuclear program.

Republicans have long argued that
Tehran is abiding only by the strict letter of the deal, not the spirit.

The Trump administration
on Monday vowed a new strategy that will “address the totality of Iran’s
malign behavior and not narrowly focus” solely on the nuclear accord
— including new sanctions aimed at holding Iran responsible for its
“misbehavior in the region in a bunch of fronts,” according to one
senior administration official who spoke to reporters on Monday night.

The
“malign activities” outside the realm of the nuclear agreement include
Iran’s support for terrorism, human rights abuses, backing of Syrian
President Bashar Assad, and hostility to Israel, the official said.

“The
president and the secretary of State judge that these Iranian
activities severely undermine the intent of the JCPOA which was to
contribute to regional and international peace and security,” the
official said.

Officials said that the previous administration took a “narrow approach” that overlooked Iran’s “broader behavior.”

“We
are determined not to repeat that mistake and we are approaching all
this as part of an integrated strategy to holding Iran accountable for
its misdeeds in all respects and trying to contain the threats that Iran
presents to our interest and those of our allies and friends in the
region.”

The Senate in June passed a bill with
sanctions targeting Iran’s support for terrorism, its ballistic missile
program, human rights violations and weapons transfers.

Trump Imposes New Sanctions On Iran
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July 18, 2017
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